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Character process

How a 3D character comes to life.

Meet San Miguel, Emerito's yellow frog, and the full character design process behind him: concept, poses, topology, look development, and motion. The same pipeline behind every character we ship.

Stage 01

Concept & exploration

Every character starts as a question: who is this, and what do they stand for? San Miguel began as pages of options, silhouettes, color tests, and attitudes, until one yellow frog refused to be discarded.

San Miguel concept options Options
San Miguel branding artwork Branding art
Stage 02

Poses & personality

A character isn’t a model, it’s a personality. Pose sheets define how San Miguel stands, leans, celebrates, and sulks, so every future animation stays in character.

San Miguel pose sheet Pose sheet
Stage 03

Topology

The invisible craft: clean topology, the geometry flow of the 3D model, decides whether a face can smile without breaking. Boring to look at, impossible to skip.

San Miguel 3D topology wireframe Wireframe
Stage 04

Look development

Materials, lighting, and render tests until the character looks the same in every shot: the exact yellow, the exact eyes, the exact charm.

San Miguel render test Render test
Stage 05

Turntable

The rite of passage for every 3D character: a full rotation under neutral light. No angle to hide in.

Turntable
Stage 06

Motion

Then the character comes alive: walk cycles first, personality later. If the walk reads as San Miguel from across the room, the rig is ready for anything, including questionable dance moves.

Walk cycle
Questionable dance moves

Your brand deserves a face like this.

Original character design, full IP, and the whole pipeline under one roof.

Let's design yours →